Journaling - A Preamble

Creating a practice of journaling expands your life in immeasurable ways. It improves your mental health. It enables you to make sense of the world around you and helps you come to terms with your inner world. It allows you to look at how your thoughts and emotions are linked and create a space for an honest and constructive dialogue with yourself. I highly recommend you start a journaling practice.

I began journaling many years ago when I was on a healing path. I read many books, explored spiritual teachers, and tried different practices to see how they fit. I wanted to understand myself and unlock my creativity. I also experimented with creating healthy structures in my life.

I read an excerpt from Julia Cameron's book The Artist’s Way—A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. In it, she discusses the practice of doing morning pages, which had a profound influence on my life.

Recently, I found an article in the New York Times entitled “Julia Cameron Wants You To Do Morning Pages,” which explains a little about Julia, the influences in her life, and why she wrote the book.

My Journaling Practice

When I learned about Julia’s morning pages exercise that she created, I got up at 5:00 am, went to my desk, took out three pages of paper - the three-ring binder type - and sat and wrote until those three pages were completed. Then, I would put those pages in a binder, and periodically, I would take out a chunk of the older pages and throw them away to make room for more.

I did not review those pages because the practice is about doing a brain dump—period. It is about getting those thoughts clouding your brain out of your head and onto paper. Then, you have a chance to see them, and you also have an opportunity to allow space for more creative, helpful thoughts to flow.

I did this every morning before going to work and before my daughter was awake. It became integral to my well-being and a priority. I also did them on the weekends. If I were feeling the flow, I would do more than three pages—but never less.

I still journal almost daily, but I don’t have to complete the task before going to work because I am retired. I try to do it every morning with my coffee, but if that doesn’t work, I get to it at some point. The best practice is journaling first thing in the morning - after feeding my cat, Roger, and before looking at any social media.

Our Days are Busy Creating Mind Loops

We have so much happening daily that we don’t even realize or tune in. And we make a million decisions. We experience a lot because our six senses are always fired up:

• seeing

• hearing

• tasting

• touching

• smelling

• sensing

Just think about a trip to the grocery store and realize how those six senses are electrified. We sort through many products to find items we want or need. We hear many noises, including snippets of conversation that have nothing to do with us. In our mind’s eyes, we taste many different things as we contemplate our meals and snacks for the next few days. We touch many other products as we put them in our cart and then unload them onto the cashier’s belt. We may feel different produce pieces as we try to pick the best. We may smell the bakery baking bread, the deli frying chicken, or the meat and seafood displayed for us. And our senses are fired up as we try to figure out how to navigate the aisles and avoid bumping into people and displays.

That may all happen in a half-hour trip to the store. And that is just a tiny sliver of our day. So, cast your mind through your day yesterday and review all the stimuli you were subjected to. It is mind-boggling.

There were also a gazillion thoughts that went through your brain, most of which you did not realize. Some were fleeting. More than a few thoughts hung around; some were stuck in loops. And when you put your attention to them, they just kept looping and looping and getting tangled up with each other.

I like to think of all the experiences of our days - the under-the-radar ones and the others - be they tiny or jumbo - as being stamped on index cards in our brains. The stamping goes on and on, and the cards pile up. And we are oblivious.

And when we sleep, the brain gets to work, sorts out those index cards, and starts to make sense of them, discard them, or file them away. Admittedly, it is an imperfect process that takes many attempts to make order out of the chaos.

Here is the Process of Journaling

That is why it is crucial to get to your morning pages as soon as you wake up so that you can do the work to continue to sort and discard. As you write, you are emptying your mind of useless things and freeing space for gems to appear.

Julia says it has to be three pages. You must handwrite those pages—use cursive writing or join-up—and write on every line. This is because you want to learn to establish a free flow of thoughts and ideas. This is the time to ask the critic to step aside, take a break, and play with the cat. No editing or corrections are allowed. You want to go with the flow.

So, I ensured I had lots of lined, three-hole paper and many pens that smoothly glided across the page and did not smudge. I had my bathroom visit and drank a big glass of water. I put a blanket over my knees to keep me warm.

Once I started, I tried to keep my nose down and my pen on the paper to keep my focus there. If I got stuck with what to write, I would write a word or phrase repeatedly until I started to gather more thoughts and ideas to write. They do pop up if you relax and keep your pen moving.

Admittedly, most of my writing tended to be complaining. I am usually happiest when I first wake up, so this discovery surprised me until I figured out the purpose of this practice. I was emptying my brain of the unwanted stuff that had gathered in my sleep, so it makes sense it was on the negative side of the ledger,

Jettisoning those negative thoughts and experiences was reward enough. Freeing up space in my mind allowed my energy to expand and gave new ideas the freedom to show themselves. And then there was magic!

Journaling Helps Us Step Up the Ladder

New thoughts could flow in because I created a lightness in my mind. The mind loops and tangles started to loosen and unravel over time as I learned to trust the process.

Initially, I felt lighter - less burdened - because I could put down my heavy thoughts and sort things out. I walked with a more effortless gait and a smile on my face. I laughed a little more. I gained the confidence to move out of my comfort zone and take a Korean form of yoga. I had more courage to meet new people.

As the thoughts flowed, I started having magical moments. I would experience what I called ‘Ah Ha’ moments, where I would gain deep, meaningful insights about myself and my life. I was mining for gemstones.  Personal growth started to become real. I began to take steps to climb out of the mind loops and negative thoughts and feelings that plagued me. I reached for new levels of being. I started to live my life with intention.

You Don’t Have To Do What I Did

On her beautiful site, Vanilla Papers, the blogger from Cairo, Dee, wrote: “17 Journaling Tips For Beginners (And How To Start).” It is chock full of good ideas and tips. Check it out.

The Grammarly Blog has a great post: “Ten Ways Keeping a Journal Will Genuinely Improve Your Life.” If you need some motivation, this is the article to read.

The habit and practice of journalling is a great tool to gain insight into your thoughts and habits. It will help you get to know yourself. It will help empty your mind of those index cards full of snippets you don’t need. It will allow space and the environment to enable those “Ah Ha’ moments and those insights to make themselves seen and felt. You can also learn to live your life better with intention and purpose.

Are you ready to commit?

A Challenge For You:

1. Prepare for journalling by assembling pens, paper, and a blanket and finding a quiet, private spot where you can write uninterrupted.

2. Commit to an entire month of getting up earlier to write your three complete morning pages.

3. As you learn the process, allow yourself to go through moments and periods of frustration.

4. If you fall off this ladder, dust yourself off and recommit to your practice.

5. Celebrate insights and success along the way.

6. You are amazing!

Please consider sharing a link to this blog or site with people you know who could use it and/or pass it on to others. Also, please share your thoughts with me. And … I would be appreciative of a coffee and croissant.

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